My elderly relative has very limited use of his fingers and hand on the right side. He stands at the toilet to urinate and sprays over the rim and along the toilet base. I am trying to figure out how to address this reoccurring mess. I taped disposable bedpads, first as cutouts, around the toilet base, then I made slings from the toilet to the walls to catch the dribble and spray. Since he uses a walker, both ideas did not work out; the pads got twisted up into a big mess in no time. He prefers to stand, however unsteadily, from habit and because sitting and rising are difficult, although there is a tall toilet in the bathroom. The caulk has finally shriveled up around the base of the stained toilet floor; it is an ongoing mess. We clean with bleach water weekly, down from scrubbing every 2 or 3 days initially. Are there any suggestions or should I just accept the mess and live with it. He cannot see what is happening and he is deaf. My husband is reluctant to embarrass the old fellow by trying to show him what is happening. How do nursing homes handle such a situation.
he pees, but the worse thing is when his bowel movements are the least bit loose...poop drops out down his pants leg and gets all over everything,,,he trys to wipe it off with socks, towels whatever he can find if I'm not there at the moment.
With all the rich holiday food and me distracted by family visiting, we've had a nightmare the last few days...I don't know what to do.
So I have considered asking him to pee into the shower. Don't know if this will solve the problem, or even if I can get him to consent, but I thought I throw this out as one way to deal with the problem. If you try this, you will have to tailor the idea to your own situation, but maybe your parent can walk into a shower, with come kind of flip-flops, pee and then if you have a shower head with a hose, you can wash around the private parts and use a towel to dry off, if he or she has messed him/herself.
Just a thought...
so I bought him Urinal Toilet Aid Loo W/ Brief/Bag. bud his penny is very small and we don't know where to strap the Bag too. Somebody out there with this kind of Problem to help and to explain the best results. thanks.
Jude gave a good list of help with stool. Try a stool softener first. Slowly increase the amount of fiber in his diet. Read up on what foods are fiber filled. Be sure if you use a fiber supplement (Benefiber) that he drinks lots and lots of water or other non caffeine drinks or else he may become bloated and in pain. Miralax is good. We use 1/2 dosage daily for a while and then lay off for a few days. We also find that a hot beverage with breakfast will usually get things moving. Stewed or dried prunes, prune juice, apples and other fruit (not bananas, they are constipating) will all help. Bananas in moderation as they have other good qualities such as potassium. That reminds me, I believe Magnesium Citrate can be a good laxative. Of course, any exercise is good.
Be sure you have washable or disposable pads underneath him to protect the furniture and bedding.
The best thing is to take him to the toilet at regular intervals. Say every two hours. He has lost the ability to feel the urine and the diaper absorbs it so well that he may not feel wet. Just like baby diapers, they pull the wetness away from the body. Good luck. This is a problem most of us face at some time or another.
At an office meeting during a break I overheard two young fellows who were in their late 30's, early 40's, who play basketball discuss their health issues... because of their years of playing basketball, either in college, semi-pros, or as a weekend sport, with back pain and because of their height, one mentioned he sits down to pee and the other one said he does, too... then they talked of other friends they knew in sports who did the same thing. That was refreshing to hear, that the next generation didn't feel degraded by having to sit down :)
I only ever use senna as an absolute last resort - bisocodyl is what I try if the daily dosage doesnt work - you might know it as dulcolax it softens the stool but is not as harsh as senna. We seems to have a range of stuff that works in varying degrees!
Stage 1 lactulose
Stage 2 Movicol/laxido
Stage 3 Bisocdyl
Stage 4 Senna
Stage 5 HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP she is impacted
Stage 6 manual disimpaction
Stage 7 - we have never got to but it would be an anema - god forbid
Also having trouble with some days constipation, some days diarrhea! Can't go anywhere because I am afraid he will let it loose somewhere! Niece and sister are horrified and asking hospice if he is alright! He is almost 93 and weakened from pneumonia!
Any advice on how to regulate the senna plus for even stooping is appreciated! You just got to laugh it off! We use a lot of paper towels, windex with ammonia and plastic gloves! Our house is clean after we clean it up!
Older bladders and pelvic floor muscles can be weak and there's often not a lot of time between the urge to go and the flow. It's also part of brain training so the whole process is complicated.
The unique coping ideas that come from this community are inspiring. Thanks for starting the New Year off so well!
Carol
As she has worsened, we discovered another helpful way of dealing with the mess. We put a large bath mat under the bedside toilet so it catches to misses and drips and overflow, etc. Then every day (sometimes twice) we take the mat away and put out a new one and wash the dirty one in the washer with plenty of hot soapy water. It doesn't alleviate all of the mess but it sure does make the cleanup a little easier.
(love u daddy!!) and make sure that I never run out of bleach, pine sol, air freshener spray, etc. My hallway closet now looks like a janitor's cleaning closet.
The only thing about caregiving that really sends me over the edge is the bodily functions issues. You would think that companies would have come up with better solutions to help caregivers by now....I guess there is just no profit in it.
I actually have 3 bedside commodes that I rotate.
Sometimes I just wheel my mom outside and hose her off. I had hot water installed outside for that purpose! You are not alone!